Studies

The Religious status in Syria Aspects of the last decade before the revolution

Within the last decade before the revolution, there was a state of demand for the religious aspects at the popular level, and a statue of official leniency in dealing with it, this religiosity aspects indicate the changes in social, economic and political fields.
The religious status in Syria within the last decade are summarizes in five central points:the first: the wide Sufi tradition in the levant, the nature of relation between the sheikh and his followers or his students because the popular Sufi religiously is the common style, so the attitudes of followers in general towards the ruling power or what is related to it in the public affair is the attitude of their sheikhs respectively.the second is: defeat of the Syrian society due to the repressive regime since the eighties and the inability of it to make any popular movement at any level, culturally, politically, intellectually or religiously, and later, the popular fear of Lebanon and Iraq’s experiences in their civil wars.The third: a small religious freedom led to emergence of religious elite which concerned of the political affairs and interested in the Syrian citizen’s problems of life and preoccupied with issues of the nation, and how to advancement, ways to repair within the regional and international conflicts, and discussed secretly ways to reform the regime without violence the Fourth: the effects of the global fight against "terrorism" campaign after the 9th of September 2001, which led regionally and locally to push and encourage the Arab region to strengthen the role of , " Sufi moderate Islam " and to fight against , "the radical Islam" as recommended by the strategic centers of making decisions, such as Rand Corporation.the fifth: listed the Syrian regime within the political theme of "resistance" which includes views and parties adopted the various Islamic thought such as (Iran, Hezbollah and Hamas), where following the group of "resistance Islam" enhanced the popular religiosity.